UFA Charles Grant (NO) had the involuntary manslaughter charge against him dropped. He agreed to a misdemeanor public fighting charge with a fine of $1,000, a year probation and a $20,000 payment to the victims of that confrontation. The charges stemmed from a brawl outside a nightclub that led to the death of an innocent passer by.

Texans LB Bryan Cushing has been suspended for the first 4 games for violations of the NFL drug policy. He was the D Rookie of the year last season despite having failed a test in September of 09. He appealed the decision but lost that appeal and now will serve the suspension.

We will see a lot of RFA players signing their tenders between now and June 15th. On that date NFL teams can lower the offer and the period for players to get an offer from another team has already expired.

The political left is insisting that the NFL pull the Super Bowl scheduled for Arizona due to the recent law that enforces federal law in the state. I suspect that the gutless Commissioner Goodell will do that despite the fact that the left including President Obama is lying about the law to the public. He knows that the law exactly mirrors the federal law but continues to mislead the public with the help of the traditional media. Both he and Goodell (if he caves to the left) should be ashamed.

NBA

The Orlando Magic look like they are a sure bet for the Eastern finals. That is not the case with the Cavs. They took back home court advantage with an impressive win at Boston Friday but Sunday looked like they didn’t care who wins the series. The thing that concerns Cavs fans is that the team seems to exhibit no sense of urgency to close out the Celtics. If they play game 5 in Cleveland like they did game 4, the Celts will win back the home court advantage.

Los Suns was worn on the uniforms in an NBA playoff game. The team should have been fined for each uniform in the same amount that a player would have been fined for a violation of league uniform rules. Not only should the NBA stay out of politics, it should learn Spanish and at the very least get it right.

MLB

The game and the world will miss Earnie Harwell. He was a Hall of Fame announcer but even a better human being.

Indian closer Kerry Wood has been cleared to return to the mound. As always with Wood, the only question is how long he will be able to pitch?

A large part of the problems of the Red Sox has been the struggles of SP Josh Beckett. When 98 year old knuckle baller Tim Wakefield takes your place in the rotation you have really been bad.

A’s pitcher Dallas Braden threw a perfect game this week.

NHL

Although they got to the second round, the Red Wings looked very old in losing their playoff series 4 games to 1. Look for the team to be significantly different next season.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He is a regular contributor on Cleveland Sports Radio http://www.sportstalkcleveland.com/ Monday afternoons at 1 Eastern. He has also published several novels on

UFA S FS Darren Sharper (NO) is reported to have had microfracture knee surgery during the off season according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Sharper was a key part of the Saints D and their playoff run. The typical recovery time for that procedure is 18-24 months. That would also explain why he had such a delay in getting a contract offer. He has signed back with the Saints on a 1 year deal for 1.5M.

The Jones formerly known as “Pacman” is still shopping his services around the league. He went to Detroit last week and visited the Bengals recently. There was no interest by the Lions but the Bengals are at least considering an offer.

The 49ers signed LB Patrick Willis to a new 5 year deal worth 50M with 29M guaranteed.

With the draft of QB Tim Tebow, QB Brady Quinn could be on the move again. The Jags are reported to be interested in obtaining the former Browns 1st round pick.

NBA

There is a very fine line between a veteran team and just an “over the hill” team. Teams can go from one side of that line to the other in a single playoff series. The problem is that there is no way back except to blow the roster up and rebuild. After building a 11 point lead in game 1 vs. the Cavs, the Celts looked like they crossed the line at half time by losing the game by 8. However, they came back in game 2 and now have stolen home court advantage. The most interesting part of that game was that the “old” Celts outscored the Cavs 31-12 in the 3rd quarter. There is an old adage, in the NBA it isn’t a series until a home team loses a game. Now that the Celts have smacked the Cavs up side the head, it will be interesting to see if the Cavs can recover.

MLB

It is still VERY early in the season but there are a couple of things we can see now. The Red Sox are reeling. At 12-14 they are digging themselves a hole that will be very hard to crawl out of. They look old and done. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has gotten off to a really good start. It is hard to see them challenging the Yanks all year but they are playing well now. My two favorite teams are looking forward to high picks in this year’s draft–The Cubs and Indians.

NHL

The Columbus Blue Jackets are looking for a new coach AGAIN! Is there anyone out there that can turn what seems to be a team with a couple of very good players into a winner. If not, the city of Columbus will let the team leave. Central Ohio will not support a loser and that is all the CBJ have done. In their history they have had just 1 sniff of the playoff coffee beans.

College Football

The new NCAA rule changes include the right of a ref to take a TD off the board if the player “showboats” on his way to the endzone. Having spent some time in zebra stripes myself, I must give the officials some advice. Be VERY careful how and when you make that call. If it were made against the home team at Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame or any number of CFB hotbeds, it might result in a tumult that would make the Hundred Years War seem like a minor disagreement between two 3 year old girls at a church picnic.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He is a regular contributor on Cleveland Sports Radio http://www.sportstalkcleveland.com/ Monday afternoons at 1 Eastern. He has also published several novels on

As I wrote Rick Serritella, of NFLDraftBible.com, reported Southern California LBs Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing tested positive for steroids. I did verify the original report with another source. Cushing and his agent have both denied the report. Thus far, Cushing has not provided any proof of his claim. The official NFL report will be given to teams next week. Most likely it will be leaked.

Kentucky is no longer THE basketball power—GET OVER IT!

New coach John Calipari will have a couple of the best prospects back out of their commitment to Memphis and announce that they will follow Calipari. This still doesn’t change my opinion about the long term future of Ky basketball. Calipari is an outstanding coach and an excellent recruiter. Memphis fortunes will decline and Ky will be better. But long term the ACC will continue to be the center of basketball with the Big East second and the SEC in the dust of those two.

Several NFL QBs are in the frying pan.

The Sporting News had an article Thursday in their emailed sports paper SN Today listing 5 of my QB’s on the hot seat. I published my column on March 9th.

Home Court advantage is the road to a crown for LA or Cleveland.

The Cavs are still one game up on LA for home court advantage throughout the playoffs. To secure HCA the Cavs must beat Boston Sunday in Cleveland. They had a 2.5 game lead which was tossed away with a 2 game losing streak that included a loss to Washington. Thanks to a loss by LA last night, the Cavs are up by 1.5 games. I predict that these two teams will meet in the finals and whoever has HCA will win. I also predict that LeBron James will be the league MVP.

Owens going to Buffalo says most about the Bills

Terrell Owens finally showed up for the voluntary workouts. When asked about how he liked Buffalo, he said he loved it adding that Toronto was great. This is not a marriage made in Heaven.

Fresh Niblets:

Bills’ RB Lynch gets a 3 game suspension for pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge.

It seems that the Commissioner is backing off his 0 tolerance policy. This could be an attempt to win favor with the NFLPA. If that is the case, it is a bad precedent. Fan support is a lot more important than giving the Union an Easter gift.

The player formerly known as Chad Johnson has his name accepted by the NFL.

The league officially but quietly accepted Chad’s name change to Ocho Cinco (85 in Spanish). Now the Bengals should change his number to 19.

French cycling officials complained that Lance Armstrong was uncooperative with a drug tester.

Armstrong asked the official to prove his credentials before taking the test. Now let me get this straight. A country that helped Saddam Hussein steal millions of dollars from the UN’s oil for food program despite a world wide embargo is complaining about having to prove credentials of a tester? That is what’s wrong with France. They planted trees along the major streets in Paris so that the German soldiers could march in the shade.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are in the NHL Playoffs.

After 9 years of total futility, IT’S ABOUT TIME! Now let’s see you get out of the first round.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for and edits https://fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and edits .